Video Background Remover guides
Practical guides for removing video backgrounds, exporting transparent WebM and ProRes files, and using alpha-channel videos in OBS, video editors and websites.
Formats and browsers
Which formats keep transparency, and why a file turns black in some browsers.
Transparent WebM Black or Grey in Safari
A transparent WebM shows a grey or black box in Safari because Safari ignores VP9 alpha. Our test in Safari, Chrome and Firefox, and the two-file fix.
WebM vs ProRes 4444 vs HEVC with Alpha vs GIF
Compare the formats that keep video transparency on one test clip: file size, which browsers rendered the alpha, edge quality, and which to pick for each use.
Remove and export
From a clip with a background to a file with a real alpha channel.
How to Export Video with an Alpha Channel
Which formats keep a video’s alpha channel, how to export one from After Effects, and how to get transparent WebM or ProRes 4444 from ordinary footage.
How to Create a Transparent WebM Video
Make a transparent WebM with VP9 alpha: our file-size tests, the ffmpeg command we ran, where it plays in Safari, Chrome and Firefox, and the online route.
Editors and OBS
Using alpha-channel video in OBS, Premiere Pro, After Effects and Final Cut.
How to Use Transparent Video in OBS
Add a transparent WebM to OBS as a Media Source: the settings OBS documents, how to tell a bad file from a bad setting, and what we could not verify.
How to Export ProRes 4444 with Alpha
ProRes 4444 is the Apple codec that stores alpha. What Apple says, how to export it from After Effects, how big the files get, and how to make one with ffmpeg.
GIF and conversion
Transparent GIFs and converting existing files to transparent WebM.
How to Make a Transparent GIF from a Video
Turn a video into a transparent GIF: how GIF transparency works, our tested ffmpeg command, how to avoid white outlines, and file sizes for 5 second loops.
How to Convert MOV to a Transparent WebM
Convert a ProRes 4444 MOV to transparent WebM with ffmpeg, build a transparent GIF, and see what breaks when you change a flag. Tested on FFmpeg 9.0.2.